Before our sun sets
by Dresden-Complex
Summary: After a defeat Viral sees the vision of an enchanting coyote eared girl. We he realizes she is real and just a hallucination he becomes fascinated by her and desperate to learn her past and how she will affect the future of the world. Rated M for reasons.
1. Reality or fantasy?

**Hello! Well this is my first request so I hope that it's everything you were hoping for Koyote-chan! As a general warning you can expect to find all the things you've come to expect from in this story (language, violence, lemons) in due time. This one gets an M rating for a reason! Enjoy!**

**_Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann _copyright by Gainax**

**Mia belongs to Koyote-chan and Baku belongs to me! **

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Viral looked above him to see the Gurren Lagann's form looming over him. Perhaps a battle was still going on, but he couldn't be sure. He felt delirious and cold, his body craving only sleep. The only sounds he heard were muffled noises, too quiet to accurately discern their origin. He thought briefly on these little noises, wondering if perhaps they were his comrades, or maybe his enemies, but the thought died before it could evolve further.

The young beastman's body was going numb, his mind going blank, his vision going dark. The only feeling that pierced through the descending vale of silence and darkness was that of cooling blood that was pooled beneath him. 'Mmm, I guess it's over' Viral thought peacefully, his eyes drooping from fatigue. A smile stretched across his face as he thought about of dying and how nice it might be, but a sound suddenly invaded his serenity.

"Viral, it's not time for you to go yet," a voice seemed to whisper. The voice startled him and looked around quickly to see where it had come from. The scene seemed exactly the same, as if time had frozen, but then he noticed a figure appear in front of him. It was the figure of what appeared to be a young female human with flowing brown hair, but she had two blue coyote ears. That meant that this girl was a beastman but she was more human than any beastman Viral had seen before.

"What do you mean? Since when can you decide when it's time for someone to die?" he asked in a slightly sarcastic tone. The girl cocked her head and looked at him with confusion etched over her face, but after a moment her expression softened and she giggled.

"I don't think I've ever decided when it was someone's time," she said tenderly as she appeared in Enki's cockpit and lay against Viral. "I just know that it's not yours." Viral's head was swimming. He had no idea what was happening, and began to wonder if this was a hallucination or a near death experience.

"Is this what happens when you die?" Viral asked in a hoarse voice. The girl shook her head.

"No, this is what happens just before you wake up…"

A moment later two golden eyes snapped open in a dark room. Viral scanned his surroundings and found that he was in a hospital room. Around tiny monitors blinked and whirred, keeping track of the medications being pumped into his body, and his heart rate and breathing. Occasional beeps were heard as the machines monitored the amount of blood and fluids that hung from a metal frame beside his bed, but the steady sounds were almost comforting. Viral was welcoming any noise as he lay in this sterile environment.

He pinched his eyes shut and tried to remember what had happened during the battle. He remembered the Gurren Lagann and then darkness. No, that wasn't good enough. He had to try harder. He relaxed and let his mind wander slowly backwards until something else came to him. He remembered a girl, a girl with flowing brown hair and coyote ears.

How could he have forgotten this person? She was the last person he had seen or talked to before he blacked out. But still, something just didn't make sense. Was she real or had she merely been a hallucination? The more Viral thought of the girl the more she seemed to be unreal. She couldn't have possibly been there in person because she had not been in a gunmen. Also she was far too human looking to be a true beastman, wasn't she? None of the evidence supported this girl being real. She must have been a hallucination after all.

As Viral came to his conclusion the door to the room opened with a little click. Viral turned his head and was surprised to see that it was General Thymilph who was standing in the door way. The large gorilla man obscured the light from the hallway behind him but Viral could see he was covered in bandages. Obviously the battle had taken a fierce toll on others as well.

"It seems you got a little beat up there, Viral," Thymilph chuckled as he tried to get through the small door but gave it up once he realized he was too big to fit through the opening. Viral slowly sat up taking care not to pull out any of his IVs and carefully raised his hand to salute his general.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't able to be of more assistance to you, Sir," he said in a very shaky voice. His throat was incredibly dry and it hurt to talk. He really wanted some water but he wasn't about to ask his general for anything. After all he had just failed at his mission.

"You'll just have to try harder next time is all," Thymilph replied. Viral nodded. "Since you're awake you mine as well get dressed and get something to eat. If you don't keep your strength up you won't be ready for the next battle," the general said as he turned and walked off. Viral looked after his general and sighed. The meeting could have gone worse, but quite honestly he didn't want to get up.

The passages of the capital were clogged with other beastmen running this way and that to get their daily tasks done. There wasn't much room to move without getting bumped by others and Viral was finding this to be quite a nuisance as he limped down one of the capital's clogged arteries. He kept his crutch as close to him as he could so he wouldn't lose it but it would still be of use to him. He was still jostled by other bodies however and every bump seemed to vibrate through his body and aggravate every wound.

It was really quite annoying that people never gave any lead way to the wounded but that's the way things always were. Viral had to admit he was guilty of this as well, but now he realized how horrible it was to be injured and pushed around. When a passage way that was far less crowded appeared to the right of him he quickly decided to take it. The passage was cold and poorly lit but at least it was far easier to move than it was in the main passage.

As he moved down the hall an occasional window shone a pale amber light onto his form. His gold eyes traced lazily between the portals looking to see what lay in the rooms beyond. Each room was large and many of them held damaged gunmen. It was clear that he had wandered into one of the many hanger passages that were weaved throughout Templin.

As he passed by one of the final windows the gunmen inside caught his eye. He stopped and realized that it was indeed his Enki with a small swarm of engineers carefully assessing and repairing its damaged form. The sight made him stop and he walked to the rail in front of the window to watch the other beastmen work. From what he could see Enki had sustained about as much damage as he himself had. Viral sighed at the depressing sight.

"Sorry about that, old friend," Viral murmured. He was about to continue his needlessly scenic route when another sight caught his eye. He had to do a double take to make sure he was truly seeing what he thought. Long brown hair, blue coyote ears, and bright silver eyes. This was the exact girl he had sworn was a hallucination caused by a near death experience, but there she was standing not twenty feet from him. Viral could only gape as he watched the girl talk casually with a sheep girl who was obviously in charge of the repairs on his gunmen. If this girl was really real he had to talk to her.

Viral turned to hobble toward the door to the hanger but was stopped by a quick tug on the shoulder. He turned to see a happy human like beastman with large ears and a bushy tail that swished in eagerness behind its owner. It was Baku who was one of Viral's best friends.

"Hey Captain, where you off to in such a rush?" the fox soldier asked with a smile.

"Well I was… I was heading for the…" Viral found himself tripping over his words far more than he would have preferred, but his nerves were still frayed from the fight.

"You were just heading off to eat? Great! So was I! We can go together!!" Baku chimed happily and he gently pulled Viral after him. Viral tried to sputter a quick response to make Baku stop, but he couldn't find the right words.

"Who's the coyote girl?" was all he could manage.

"That's Mia, but we can talk about her while we eat Captain, so let's go! I'm starving!" Baku said in a sing-song voice. Viral's eyes caught one last glimpse of Mia as he was dragged out of the hall back toward one of the main passages.

"Mia..." he breathed quietly. The vision of the girl lingered in his mind as he was lead along and as he thought he found that one glimpse of her had been enough to enchant him entirely.

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**AN: And finally the first chapter arrives! I hope it lives up to expectations. Let me know if anything needs to be changed around and I'll be happy to do it! Hope that everyone is looking forward to the next chapter! **


	2. Hello

**Gurren Lagann belongs to Gainax**

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When they finally reached the dining hall and managed to get their food everything seemed business as usual. Baku was stuffing his face as if this were the last meal he'd ever get, but that wasn't usual. Baku swore by the mantra, live every day as if it were your last. Viral, however, merely poked at the food in front of him, watching it jiggle absent mindedly. His brain was far off in another place, thinking of the enchanting view of Mia he had gotten earlier. Visions of Mia consumed his so completely that he didn't even notice Baku staring at him.

"Hello, anyone in there?" the fox asked, waving a hand in front of Viral's face. The golden eyes traced lazily up to meet the amber orbs staring back.

"Mmmm," Viral grumbled before turning his attention back to his food. Baku cocked his head. He had never seen Viral act this strange before.

"Jeez, Captain, you haven't even technically met her yet and already you're in love?" Baku asked in his usual giddy voice. That question was enough to get Viral's attention, however. This time his eyes shot to the beastman across the table and he did his best to concoct a fake glare.

"What are you talking about you idiot? I'm not in love with her! You said it yourself, I don't even know here yet!" Baku stared at Viral for a minute, but then broke out into laughter. Viral's face contorted with annoyance as he watched Baku laugh and took an angry bite out of his lunch. "What's the story with her anyway?" Viral asked as he chewed.

Baku stopped his laughing and straightened up. He looked about to see what the others in the hall were up to before he turned back to his captain. Viral watched Baku with an air of curiosity. What could be so strange about the girl that Baku had to make sure no one else was watching before he said anything?

Baku dropped his voice before he began. "Well, I heard that she wasn't always a beastman," he began. "Apparently she used to be human, but the Spiral King found out that her father was a talented scientist and he brought the two of them here to the Capital. He forced her father to experiment on her to see if humans could accept beastman DNA, and as you can see it worked." Viral stared at Baku for a moment with a look of disbelief.

"Really? Then what happened to her father? I've never seen any human scientists around Tepplin," Viral replied, his voice giving away his skepticism.

"From what I heard the Spiral King killed her father and her sister," Baku replied.

"And how did you find all of this out?" Viral asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, Mia told me. We've been really close for a long time, but you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone about this. It's supposed to be top secret information," Baku said in a stern voice.

"Then why tell me?" Viral asked.

"Because I trust you, and besides, you can't really connect with someone if you don't know anything about them. That would be bad for you since you like Mia so much." At that Viral threw a plate at Baku who easily dodged it. The fox laughed before getting up and scampering to the door, waving to Viral from the threshold. Viral responded by throwing a bottle at him which merely shattered on the door frame.

"God, he's annoying…" Viral mumbled as he dropped his head onto the table.

After he had finished his lunch Viral decided to go to the training grounds. For some reason it always helped him to clear his head. However, he wasn't prepared for how that one trip would change his life. When Viral reached the opening to the training ground he knew there was a practice battle going on. He could hear the clang of metal even from the entrance. A smile stretched across his face and he hobbled a little faster not wanting to miss the battle.

When he reached the field he was greeted by a young bird beastman who gave him a quick salute. Viral returned the gesture before looking to the battle in front of him. One side was a standard bull faced gunmen, but its opponent was different. The other gunmen was maroon and black in color and was more humanoid in shape, like Viral's own Enki. On the hands there were what appeared to be cut off gloves and feet donned low heels. Viral had never seen this gunmen before, but whoever the pilot was they were clearly skilled.

"Whose gunmen is that?" Viral asked of the bird.

"That's Mia's," the bird replied without looking up from his charts. Viral's heart skipped a beat. This was Mia's gunmen? He swallowed hard, nerves starting to get the better of him, but why was he so nervous? Why was his stomach dropping out at the mention of this girl's name? Had Baku been right? Was he really in love with someone he had never met?

"Alright you two, that's enough," the bird chirped, bringing Viral around to reality. He looked from the ground up to the two gunmen and saw the beastmen exiting the cockpits. There he saw Mia, her hair sparkling in the sunlight, her tail swishing behind her. His eyes widened; she was truly the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. He was so caught up that he didn't even seem to realize that she had noticed him and was walking toward him. He was merely floating in his own world.

"Um, are you alright?" a voice suddenly asked. Viral was snapped back to reality again and he looked in front of him to see Mia standing there.

"I'm fine…" was all he could manage. Mia stared at him strangely for a minute but then smiled.

"Baku wasn't kidding, that head injury must be pretty bad," she said pointing to the bandages on Viral's head. Viral flushed with embarrassment when he realized how idiotic he must have seemed. No wonder Mia probably thought he had a horrible brain injury.

"It's really not all that bad," he said with a nervous smile. Mia giggled.

"That's good to hear. After seeing the damage to your gunmen I was afraid that you had suffered some sort of life threatening injury," she said. Viral was surprised by Mia's concern. She hadn't met him before so why should she be concerned about what happened to him?

"Oh, I'm sure I sound like some sort of weirdo to you," Mia said quickly, "Being worried about someone I've never really met and all. But Baku talks about you constantly and I've always wanted to meet you. While I was running diagnostics on Enki I was worrying that I'd never get the chance. That's why I was pretty excited when I saw you this morning at the repair hanger."

"Ah, that's very kind of you," Viral responded. In fact he was overwhelmed already by Mia's kindness. He had never met a beastman quite like her.

"Hey, Nia and I are going out for some food later if you'd like to join us. Baku will be there to in case you're not comfortable hanging out with two girls," Mia said with a laugh. Viral was surprised by the invitation, but he certainly wasn't going to pass it up.

"That sounds great," Viral replied.

"Cool, I'll have Baku get you later," Mia said enthusiastically. She smiled and waved to Viral as she walked toward the door. He waved back, a new feeling flooding through him. He had never felt quite like this before, but he felt lighter.

"Maybe Baku's right. Maybe I am in love."

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**AN: Aw, Viral's finally coming to terms with it (lol). Well, here's chapter 2. I hope it was worth the wait ^^**


	3. Date!

**Warning: Only slight hints of language in this chapter ^^**

**Gurren Lagann belongs to Gainax**

**Mia belongs to Koyote-chan and Baku belongs to me ^^**

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"Captain!!!! Get up now!!" Baku chimed as he nearly knocked Viral's door off of it hinges.

"Shut-up. Your voice is so grating sometimes," Viral replied without lifting his head from his desk. At the comment, and his boss' strange behavior Baku's smile widened. He tried his best not to burst out laughing right then and there as he tiptoed into the small room and grabbed Viral in a tight hug. Viral's eyes widened and he immediately flushed with embarrassment as he attempted to push the fox off of him. Of course with his injured limbs it wasn't shaping up so well.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he screeched as wriggled in Baku's grasp. The fox laughed outwardly now.

"Well it's your first date with Mia. You should at least learn how to give her a nice hug."

"Nice hug?! If I hug her like this I'll kill her!" Viral commented. Baku laughed again before letting up and allowing Viral to fall to the floor. He shook is head while trying to run Baku's words through it when his eyes suddenly widened.

"Wait a minute!!! Who said this was a date?!" he asked, pointing an accusatory finger at Baku.

"Well I just did… why? Did someone else call it a date to?" Baku contemplated the point for a moment before his eyes also widened. "Did Mia say it was a date?!" At that Viral felt like he was going to have a heart attack.

"No! She just invited me to come along!! That hardly qualifies this as a date!" Baku cocked his head and stared at his boss.

"I dunno… sounds like a date to me." Silence descended over the room as the two beastmen stared at one another for what seemed like an eternity. As far as Baku was concerned, however, this interval was broken when Viral began to sweat profusely.

"AAAHHH!! What was I thinking?! A date?! I don't know how to act around girls! I don't even have anything nice to give her! What am I supposed to do?!" Baku watched as Viral ran in frantic circles around his small den. He had no idea his Captain was so uncomfortable about going on a date… or so incredibly awkward around the subject. After a few more moments of letting Viral freak out Baku reached out a hand and stopped the beastman in his tracks.

"Calm down now boss! Maybe this is all new to you but you've got the expert with you," Baku said with a wide grin. Viral looked at Baku and then looked around the room to try and see this 'expert' the fox was talking about. "I'm talking about me."

"Oh…" Viral said, quickly redirecting his gaze. "But how did you…"

"Now is not the time sir! Quick, how much money do you have in your wallet?" Baku asked as he pulled Viral closer.

"Twenty-five cents," the cat shark replied.

"It will have to do," Baku replied quickly. "Now then boss, listen closely. We have an hour before we have to meet Mia and Nia and we're going to use that hour to turn you into the most eligible bachelor in Tepplin!" Viral looked at Baku like he was insane.

"Uh, I really don't think…"

"No time to talk now! We have work to do…" And with that Baku pulled Viral out the door.

Music pulsed around the small bar, neon lights adding to the atmosphere. At one of the tables in the corner two girls sat, laughing at stories from the day. Every now and then a muscled ape or lanky bird would come and ask for a dance, but the girls always declined.

"Where are Baku and this mystery man of yours, Mia?" Nia asked with a coy smile. Mia giggled.

"I have no idea, but you guys, always running an hour late for everything!" As the two laughed at a guy's inability to keep time to two mentioned men walked into the establishment, though by the looks of the one no one would guess that it was Viral. The beastman wore a suit far too fancy for the occasion, his hair had been fixed in an overly dorky sort of way, and he twitched nervously behind a large bouquet of flowers.

"I don't think is gonna work Baku," he said as he peered around at the multitude of faces staring at him. He felt even worse now than when he slunk back after his humiliating defeat by the hands of the Gurren Lagann. "Maybe we should just forget it," he continued as he tried to slink away, but was impeded by Baku.

"Don't worry about a thing Boss. Like I said, you've got me to rely on so let's go!" Without waiting to hear any protest from Viral Baku walked over to Mia and Nia's table. "Hello ladies! Your dates for the evening have arrived," the fox side with a wide grin. Mia and Nia giggled.

"We were beginning to think you weren't gonna show," Mia said happily.

"Of course not! We wouldn't skip out on the chance to spend the evening with two lovely ladies," Baku replied.

"Well Baku that's awfully charming," Nia said with a grin. "Your friend, however, seems to feel a little differently." Baku looked over to Viral and saw that his boss was near hiding under the table. Baku chuckled nervously.

"Eh, he's just a little tired from a recent mission is all," Baku said quickly as he pulled Viral closer. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he asked in a quick whisper.

"I can't do this, Baku! I'm too nervous!" Viral whispered back.

"What are you talking about? Of course you can! You just have to gather your courage and let it go!" Baku exclaimed throwing his hands in the air, consequently knocking Viral out of his chair… and over the table… and right into a kiss… with Mia.

At that the entire scene froze. Beastmen around the restaurant stared at their table. Nia looked on in shock, and Baku twitched, frozen in his previous position. "Uh… woops," he said nervously. As for Viral and Mia neither seemed to be entirely sure of what had just happened. They just seemed to be frozen in space for a moment before it finally registered in Viral's brain and he flushed, shooting back like a lighting bolt.

As Viral sat frozen, his face contorted in shock and painted in a scarlet blush, the whole establishment staring at him again his mind raced. "Did I seriously… just…kiss…Mia?!" he thought to himself. His wildest dream and worst nightmare had just happened in the space in under a minute. He tried to think of some odd explanation that could explain it all away, but nothing came. He mere swallowed hard.

"I can't believe it… I just kissed the girl I love…"

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**AN: Well it was a long time in waiting but here it is!!! This chapter was amazingly fun to write because Baku is just so fun to write for XD And Viral kisses Mia?! Oh my! I wonder will happen next... ^^ Hope everyone enjoyed!**


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